Emergency services and rescue workers attend to the site of a bus crash in the Mamatlakala mountain pass in Limpopo province, South Africa, 29 March 2024. According to South Africa’s transport ministry, 45 people died in the crash after the bus drove of a bridge. The bus was carrying passengers from Botswana to town of Moria for a local Easter religious gathering. Picture: EPA-EFE/Shiraaz Mohamed
Health officials assessed the aftermath of the fatal bus accident near Mokopane, Limpopo, prioritising support for families and monitoring identification efforts at Mokopane Hospital.
Health Minster Dr Joe Phaahla and Limpopo health MEC Phophi Ramathuba went to Mokopane Hospital in Mahwelereng on Tuesday morning to monitor the progress on the identification of Thursday’s deadly bus crash.
The 46-passenger bus, carrying Botswana nationals travelling to Moria, plunged off a bridge into a ravine some 50-metres under a bridge and burst into flames on Thursday on the R518 road near Mokopane.
The minister offered his condolences to the families of the deceased and the Botswanan government.
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The sole survivor of the crash, an eight-year-old girl, was taken for medical assistance.
Ramathuba said the girl, who miraculously has no broken bones, was in good spirits and is well, and that she should be discharged as soon as Wednesday.
The MEC added that the identity of the child must be protected as the tragic incident had psychological impacts on both the child and the mother.
On Saturday, the police said that only nine of the 34 bodies recovered at the scene were identifiable; however, after a radiology study over the weekend, only eight bodies were identifiable.
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“After a radiology study over the weekend, the report we got was that the ninth body was not as identifiable as they thought,” the MEC said.
Ramathuba further confirmed that four autopsies had been done and four still needed to be done, and there are 41 human remains in total.
“We’ve decided to subject the ninth body to the DNA process because we are not convinced,” she said.
According to the bus company and Border Management Authority (BMA), 46 people were on the bus when crossing the border, but the police have 41 human remains, meaning four are unaccountable.
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“What we can be sure of is that 46 people crossed the border, and what happened after? We can’t ask a small girl for that information. What happened between the border and the accident? Did anybody get out? Did any new people come in? The information is unknown,” the minister added.
“Just from pictures, you can see that it’s a very difficult terrain, so even with the forensic, police, and sniffer dogs looking around, all those facilities have limitations. It is possible that with all the rivers and things there, some remains could still be missing, but we are optimistic.”
Phaahla said the process is going to take a long time, and the department is not in a position to estimate the timelines of when it will be completed.
Ramathuba said the government did not want to create panic for the families of the deceased and emphasised that the reports are still preliminary as the forensic processes are underway.
ALSO READ: Tragic bus crash claims 45 lives in Limpopo
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